


That One Last Tender Place

by Spitfire007



Series: Kylux Hurt/Comfort One-shots [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Captivity, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-16
Updated: 2018-05-16
Packaged: 2019-05-07 15:25:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,707
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14673942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spitfire007/pseuds/Spitfire007
Summary: You saved my life he says I owe you everything.You don’t, I say, you don’t owe me squat, let’s just get going, let’s just get gone, but he’srelentless,keeps saying  I owe you, says  Your shoes are filling with your own damn blood,you must want something, just tell me, and it’s yours. ~ Wishbone by Richard SikenOr a one-shot where Kylo and Hux are taken prisoner and must face that they have always harbored feelings for each other.





	That One Last Tender Place

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by my favorite Richard Siken poem, [Wishbone](https://www.colorado.edu/journals/standards/V7N1/MMM/siken.html). 
> 
> Warning: Explicit descriptions of violence and torture.

Kylo Ren wakes to a searing, agonizing pain in the middle of his palm. He rises up with a jolt from where he had been sleeping only to find that his hands have been clasped in pulsing binders and General Hux standing over him, his monomolecular dagger slipping back into the sleeve of his overcoat. Before Ren can even tell him that he expected much better from someone who mostly assassinated his way to the top, Hux is pulling harshly on his arm. Ren can practically feel it trying to pop out of its socket from the pressure. When he moves off the bed, Ren realizes that there is a body with an unfamiliar uniform laying at Hux’s feet. 

"We are being--" General Hux begins but the ship they are on gives violently causing him to grab onto Ren's solid frame. Ren instantly reaches out with the Force but receives nothing but pitch blackness that feels as if it is going to drown him.

"Attacked," Hux grits out finally, steadying himself. "We need to get to an escape pod."

"What are these cuffs that you used?" Ren demands, planting his feet firmly. He's not about to go anywhere with Hux. He is half-convinced in his clouded mind that Hux is trying to kill him. This could be one of his ridiculous simulations to catch Ren off guard. Though the presence of blood dripping down his hand feels exactly like it would in reality.

Hux pushes at him but Ren's solid weight doesn't give. "Fine, if you wish to die at their hands, be my guest."

"Whose hands?"

"Who ever sabotaged our engines, used those force-nulling cuffs on you, and is now boarding us." Hux sighs. "Now if you are finished asking pointless questions that are causing us to waste incredibly valuable time, I'd like to get to an escape pod."

Ren goes to take a step only for the ship to lurch forward. He and Hux are tossed across the room like ragdolls. Hux manages to throw his security code cylinder at just the right angle for them to narrowly avoid smacking bone-breakingly hard against the door. However, they roll out into the hallway instead and land in a pile of limbs right at the feet of their current enemies.

Hux is the first to act, his long leg sweeping across the floor and knocking a few of the men off their feet. Ren almost forgets that he should actually be doing something as well. He’s just so taken back by actually being able to see Hux fight.

Without the force, Kylo feels wobbly and the fact that his hands are bond together causes him to take a few harsh blows before he finally gets his footing. However, he and Hux quickly work out a battle strategy silently. Hux gets the intruders on their knees where Kylo can knock them out with the solid material of the cuffs. If Hux manages to get them all the way on the ground, Ren’s strength means that their bones crush easily under his boots. They make quick but bloody work of their offenders. 

"I doubt that's all of them," Hux groans, taking a few seconds to breathe after the last man has been dispatched. Ren instantly recognizes his fatigue as someone who is not use to this amount of physical activity. The General may still practice with his own simulations to keep his movements sharp but there was no way he would last if they had to repeat multiple fights like this.  

Luckily for them, the rest of the way to the escape pods is clear. Hux punches in the emergency override since his security cylinder is now smashed somewhere back in Ren's temporary quarters.

Hux gets in first and begins flipping switches to charge the engine. Ren is half way in the escape pod when he sees that Hux's holopad is already inside the pod, a red dot now blinking next to Hux's own tracked location. Hux had already been here.  

"You came back for me?" Ren asks suddenly, confusion clear in his voice. He nods toward the holopad. Hux's back stiffens as his hand freezes in mid switch flip.

"You are an asset to the First Order." Hux finally replies, his gloved hand flipping the final switch. 

"Asset? I'm the leader of the entire ---" Ren stops himself because this doesn’t make sense. Ren was without the force and asleep. Hux could have taken the helm as Supreme Leader easily. So why did he risk his own life and that title, which he coveted so deeply, to come back for Kylo?  

Maybe this was still some sort of ploy. Ren can't get a read on Hux due to the force being disconnected at the moment.

"If you don't get in the pod, I am going to cut you in half when I close the door." Hux states, turning around in his chair to stare at Ren but the moment they make eye contact, his eyes widen.

Ren opens his mouth to say something but his body suddenly shuts off, slipping into the pitch blackness of unconsciousness.

~~

When Ren finally comes to, it's because the pain in the back of his head can no longer be ignored. Or it is the impossibly bright light being forced into his field of vision. He’s not sure which one is worse.

He blinks several times but his vision is far too blurred and narrow to make out anything. However, his ears seem to be able to pick up the tiniest sound because everyone in the room sounds like they are yelling directing into them.

"See, it's as I said. He's weak without the force. There is absolutely no point in questioning him, I was the one in charge. He was merely a figurehead for the troops to follow." Hux's voice sounds strange but Ren can still recognize it instantly.

"So you know all the First Order's secrets? A mere  _ general, _ " A man asks gruffly and Ren swears he hears Hux's entire lifeforce feel insulted by the question.

"I am not a  _ mere _ General. If you were to ask any of my troops, they will inform you that my position is far above that of someone of a similar rank. I kept the rank General because it would throw people off the truth that I was in fact the real leader of the First Order."

Ren opens his mouth to say something. Something along the lines about how all of that was complete bullshit. How Ren had crushed Hux's request to have a higher rank, how he had taken pleasure in just simply deleting all of the work that Hux prepared for the discussion about his promotion. The satisfaction of Hux’s jaw setting with rage kept a smile on Ren’s lips for a week even though the guilt felt hot and sticky in his stomach.

Why in the world is Hux saying this?

"Well,  _ General _ , you do know that we are going to extract every single word of information out of you right? It won't be pretty and it will definitely kill you. So...would you like to change your mind about who's really running the Order?" The sound of several people laughing echoes harshly off the walls and pounds into Ren's ears roughly.

"You can do your best gentleman, but I am afraid that you will be sorely disappointed. As Supreme Leader, I believe in my cause and will not waive to the likes of you." Hux says triumphantly but when Ren's eyes finally focus. It is on Hux's trembling hands folded neatly behind his stiff back. Is he doing this to save Ren from torture? _That was pointless!_ There was no way that small frame could withstand a fraction of what Ren could. Maybe Hux was the one with the head injury. He had to stop this, now before Hux’s pride or delirium got him killed. 

"Wait!" Ren suddenly shouts, much to his own discomfort. "He's not---"

"Silence,” Hux interrupts quickly, his voice impossibly even. “You were a very loyal dog, Kylo, but your duty is now done."

"Go on," says the leader finally. "Take him back to the cell. This won't take long and if this one doesn't give us anything, then I'll call for him."

With that, Kylo is pulled from the room, Hux breaking eye contact with him almost instantly, his head lifting proudly as he sat on his knees in the middle of the group. Ren roars back to life, his body reconnecting as he tries to pull the doors back open with still bound wrists.

It is mere seconds before he is knocked unconscious again.

~~~

"I'll say this for them, they have excellent aim." Hux says quietly above Ren. "They just deepened the crack in your skull, not added another."

Ren feels sick to his stomach and tries to heave anything out of it. Nothing comes out after several attempts so he rocks back violently in frustration, connecting with Hux's body. Hux hisses in pain, his entire body stiffening.

"Quick movements won't help either of us." Hux sighs, one of his hands grasping lightly at Ren's shoulder.

It takes a few moments to get his bearings before Ren realizes that he is laying on the floor of some prison cell and his head is in Hux's lap. Ren tries to move away but his head swims and threatens to cause him to black out again.

"Stop moving." Hux commands but his voice is still quiet, "I'm trying to get this bacta to set."

Ren eases slightly, his back and limbs still stiff. "Bacta? Where did you get Bacta?"

"I stole it." Hux says simply as if it is the most logical answer possible.

He feels Hux's other hand then, it's in his hair, pulling slightly to ensure that it is out of the way of the horrific wound on the back of Ren's skull.

"I don't understand." Ren finally admits and hopes that Hux doesn't question which part because he doesn't understand anything currently.

"It's a nasty wound but it will heal. I'm hoping to get you medical attention soon though. So far, they believe that I want to watch you die slowly due to you pretending to be Supreme Leader for so long but I can only keep that up for so long and as soon as they follow the information I gave them, I don't know how much longer either of us will last."

It's the most Ren has heard Hux talk in what feels like weeks. He has no idea how long they have been here but he knows he's been blacked out for most of it.

"Information?" Ren questions, his brain feels so sluggish and it takes several moments for him to register words. 

When Hux speaks again, his voice is slightly louder than normal. It causes Ren’s temples to pulse with pain.

"Yes. The information that they asked for. You were there but I guess you don't remember."

"About the First Order? What kind of information?"

Hux takes a deep breath, wincing from what is surely several broken ribs. "Blueprints, military bases, artillery warehouses, how to hack into credit accounts. Everything."

Ren can feel the anger begin to pour out of him. It feels foreign and hot without the force to guide it. He removes himself from Hux's lap, smacking Hux's hands out of his hair. His hand comes away bloody and the sound that Hux makes when their hands connect tells Ren that the General's fingers are broken.

_ Good _ . Ren thinks in absolute disgust. He deserves much worse than whatever he is currently suffering. 

Of course, Hux would have given them everything to save his filthy hide. It's what he always does. It's what he did with Ren when he became Supreme Leader. With the slightest bit of pressure, he folded. To think, Kylo believed that he could truly count on him at his side.

"I'll see you executed for this." Ren manages to get out through snarled teeth.

In the darkness, he can just make out Hux's body. He's pressed himself into a corner, his small frame leaning against the wall.

"I'll make sure to stay alive long enough for that to occur, Ren."

Ren moves then, his bound hands fit around Hux's throat easily, it's so small and frail under his palms. It feels completely different from choking him with the Force. He can feel Hux's pulse under his skin with each pump of his heart.

The moment Ren squeezes he is being pulled off by two men that he didn't even see come in. He fights hard, kicking and struggling against their hands but they don’t take him anywhere, simply roll him haphazardly toward the other side of the room. The light coming from outside is blinding but Ren blinks quickly to get a layout of the room. 

The room is 6 x 6. Made from a type of stone that is incredibly thick but vibrates from time to time. Ren can feel the vibrations on the back of his calves. The celI presents as a primitive structure but Kylo can tell from where the door appeared out of nowhere that it is functioning with some type of advanced technology. Three men part so that the man that Ren considers to be their leader walks in. 

“Well, seems you did give us the correct information if your dog here is willing to kill you over it.” The man says. Ren’s neck snaps to look at Hux, his vision blacks momentarily and then readjusts. 

Hux looks as if he has been tortured for months. One of his legs is at an awkward, clearly broken diagonal. The bruises on his face have taken on shades of yellow, green, blue, and black. His lips are cracked and dried blood is still caked to the side of his mouth. His throat is beginning to bloom a bruise under the red marks of where Ren’s fingers had been moments earlier. He’s got one exposed hand, the one Ren had hit earlier, cradled against his chest. He’s frame looks impossibly tiny against the intimidating grey stone. Ren feels something crack open in his chest and a tingling feeling runs down his spine as he looks at him. 

“Please, don’t leave him in here with me. He’ll kill me.” Hux whispers, his eyes darting at Ren but never staying on him long enough to make eye contact. Even without being able to read his mind, Ren knows that Hux is putting on an act.

The men laugh loudly. “That’s exactly what we are going to do. In fact, come on,  _ dog _ , let’s get you cleaned up so you can kill him with all of your strength.” 

Ren sees Hux’s body take a shattered sigh before he begins to crawl toward their captor. Ren refuses to watch, turns his eyes away from what he can only imagine is the most humiliating Hux has ever looked. Ren tries to think of anything but the sounds of Hux wincing from broken bones and stiff muscles as he moves across the floor on his hands and knees. 

“Please, please, he’s always hated me. Has always wanted me dead. He will make it slow and painful. I’ve given you everything you need to know. Please, don’t do this to me. I have credits. You can have it all.” Hux’s voice is broken, it sounds as if it is muffled behind a wall of pain. 

The leader spits toward Hux’s direction and Ren is shaking, his anger boiling. “I already have it all. Remember? You told me everything. And now you are going to suffer until the very end.” 

The sound of a boot connecting with Hux’s ribs and the intake of pained breath is the final straw. Ren is up on his feet instantly. 

“No.” Hux hisses.

“Leave him for me!” Ren growls, his body moving between the men and Hux. “You said I get to kill him. Let me do that.” 

The leader looks slightly shocked but then starts to laugh again. Ren was sick of the sound. “Of course, of course. I’ll send someone to get you later. Get you nice and patched up so you can kill this …worthless excuse for a man anyway you want.” 

“Thank you,” Ren says and the leader only laughs all the way out of the door. It closes behind him, sealing completely. 

Ren moves instantly, his hands reaching out in the dark to find Hux. He’s back in the corner he’s claimed for himself. Ren knows he probably feels like he’s being cornered even more but he can’t get close enough to him. His hands all over Hux’s trembling body. 

“Listen Ren, your saber is in the medical bay where they are going to take you. They will more than likely trust you enough to remove your binders for a moment and you have to take your chance to kill them. You have --” 

Hux begins to cough harshly, his body shaking from the effort. 

“I understand. I won’t hesitate.” Ren says, his bound hands holding Hux’s uninjuried one. 

“Excellent, otherwise this plan was pointless. I don’t want all of this to have been worthless.” Hux sighs, calming down. 

“You planned all of this?” Ren asks and he already knows the answer. Of course, Hux did. He had more than likely outlined all of this in his head while Ren was in and out of consciousness. Hux’s constant ability to adapt and survive always impressed him even if he lied to himself and said it was cowardice. 

Hux suddenly begins to shake causing Ren to reach up. Hux flinches when Ren touches his face but then leans into the warmth of his touch. However, a sound starts coming out of Hux’s chest that makes Ren worry slightly. 

He’s laughing. General Armitage Hux is laughing in front of Ren and he has no idea how to react to it. He didn’t even know he could laugh and apparently, neither did Hux. 

“I apologize. I just remembered something that they said.” Hux whispers, his head coming to lean on Ren’s shoulder. 

“What?” Ren’s voice is barely a whisper. His body ready to react if the door comes open again. He knows he’s risking Hux’s plan by being this close but he can’t sit on the other side of the room. 

“They said it was clear that you hated me. Of course, I said I hated you too. He said he knew. He could tell by the way I looked at you that I hated you.” 

Ren frowns and shifts uncomfortably with the way that the air in the room feels as if it has been sucked out. “What’s so funny about that?”

Hux begins to laugh quietly again to himself. “The fool.” 

“I don’t understand,” Ren whispers. 

“You never have. That’s what is so funny about it, Ren. Sure, I hated you at one point but it was only because of how I really felt about you. I hated that you questioned my methods, my abilities, my leadership, everything that I had worked so hard for. That I had killed for.” 

Ren stays silent afraid to speak and ruin whatever type of moment this was. But Hux stays quiet so Ren pushes just a bit. Like he always did with Hux. “How did you really feel about me?” 

“Don’t make me say it, Kylo.” Hux sounds beyond exhausted. “Please.”

“Alright,” Ren swallows. 

“You should move, they are coming. Their footsteps causes the floor to vibrate.” Hux breathes out. Ren doesn’t want to leave him. He’s spent practically the last six years trying to push down the exact same feelings that Hux refuses to confess. Now, it all feels so wasteful. They could have been…

“Kylo, please.” Hux urges. 

Ren moves then, but not before leaning in to brush the briefest of kisses against Hux’s bruised lips. “I’m going to come back for you.” 

“Get your dumb lightsword, kill them, and return to the Order.”

“I’m going to come back for you, Hux.” 

Ren is in the middle of the room when the door opens, but he turns as they lead him out. “I’m coming back for you!” 

“Oh, eagar are you? Don’t worry, we are gonna get you back in no-time. Then you can torture him just like we did. I bet you can get him to scream faster than we did. You seem the type.” One of them says.

Ren turns around completely. Hux’s eyes have closed and he looks hauntingly still. It turns Ren’s blood cold. “I’m coming back for you, Hux. Do you hear me? I’m coming back for you!”

Hux’s eyes flutter open before he just simply nods, clearly more for Ren's benefit than his own.

The men usher him down a hallway and Ren already begins to to memorize every single detail. He is greeted by the leader within a few moments. The man is looking over blueprints that were hand drawn. He grins at Ren when he sees them. 

“These look familiar?” He asks, handing him one. Ren stares down a the lines, keeping his face neutral when he sees the drops of blood on the paper. 

He’s seen these before when he broke into Hux’s quarters to gather any information that he could use against the General. Well, that was what he had told himself. He had told himself that when he opened Hux’s closet to touch his clothes that he was searching for data in there as well. 

He had found blueprints like these on Hux’s desk. They were ideas, not any actual ships or blueprints of reality. As Ren looked at the maps of artillery bases, warehouse codes, and piles of other information, he realized that they had received absolutely nothing from Hux. Knowing Hux, he had probably created these years ago in case something like this every happened. Ren had no idea what would make a person want to be so prepared for any type of disaster but he hoped that after this, Hux would tell him. 

“I’m guessing by the look on your face that these are accurate,” The leader,  _ the fool, _ as Hux had called him, laughs. 

“Yes, his memory is incredibly precise.” Ren says, spotting his lightsaber sitting on the chair that they must have tortured Hux in. His blood was still there.

“Let’s get you patched up and send you back in there to rattle that brain of his.” The man laughs. He motions for Ren to sit, which he does obediently. 

“He would talk about you, you know.” The leader says, pulling Ren’s attention from the feeling of his skull being mended. 

“I’m sure. He never agreed with my decisions.” Ren breathes, the back of his skull tingling. “He didn’t agree with me becoming Supreme Leader.” 

“He wanted all the power. That’s clear. The more recognition, the better. That pride held out for so long. I must admit I was impressed by how long it took us to finally get him to give us the information. But when he did…..he did all this in two days. I thought he would pass out from sleep deprivation but he just kept sketching. Poor bastard, thought it would keep him alive.”

The leader goes quiet for a moment before chuckling quietly to himself. “When he saw your weapon, he started to get frightened. Begged me not to give it to you because you would use it against him when you found out what he had done.” 

_ Hux _ . Ren breathes. “He’s an idiot sometimes.” 

The leader nods before looking at Ren intently. “You know I found one of my men dead in your chambers on that ship. Stabbed in the neck with some sort of blade, we found that blade on him later. Apparently, he tried to kill you with it as well but missed and hit your hand.” The man says motioning to where that hole is still in Ren’s palm, it was a clear puncture so it had already begun to heal. 

“He’s very skilled in assassinations. Seems I owe you my life as strange as that seems.” 

The leader nods knowingly. “True…..maybe you can help us. We seem to have the same type of goals.” 

“How can I serve you? Besides killing him. I will do that with pleasure.”

“I figure my crew would be welcomed into the First Order if we returned the Supreme Leader to his throne.” The leader grins. 

“Plenty of credits to your name and new trade routes to steal cargo from as well, I would think.” Ren offers. 

The leader pulls out a remote control then, he stares at Ren for a few more moments before finally pressing the button. 

The force-null binders fall from Ren’s wrists and onto the floor. The Force floods back into Ren’s body like it never left. 

He looks at the leader and all he can think of when he looks in his eyes is _ the fool.  _ His lightsaber is in his hands in a matter of seconds, cutting down every man in the room a few moments later. 

Wielding his sword again gives Ren back his confidence with each step that he takes. There are only five or sex more men to eliminate before getting to where Hux is. Each man is dispatched with ease because it means he is one step closer to freeing Hux. 

Finally, he is standing outside the cell. He doesn’t have anything to open the door with so he slices into the wall with his lightsaber. He kicks at the stone and watches as it comes crashing down into the cell. 

He expects to see Hux terrified of the wall collapsing in front of him or thrilled that Ren has returned. 

Instead, Hux is slumped against the same wall. Ren goes to him instantly, placing his thumb under Hux’s jaw to get a better look at his face. He’s pale and cold but Ren can feel the life in him and basks in his warmth. 

“I came back for you like I promised,” Ren whispers, scooping one hand under Hux’s knees and the other under his back. He cradles him close as he walks out the door, letting the Force guide him out of the building. 

His mind is searching every corridor for any lifeforce ready to end it before it becomes a threat to them. He makes it to the nearest working ship and lays Hux down in the co-pilot seat.

Touching his face, Ren wants nothing more than to heal every single cut, bruise, and broken bone in Hux but he knows they need to get out of here. But first..

_ First. _

First, Ren cups Hux’s jaw in his hands and presses his lips against his taking a deep breath as he does. Much to his surprise, he feels the slightest pressure of a response from Hux. Ren pulls back with an audible gasp. 

“Hux,” he whispers, tears now developing in his eyes. 

“Are you crying?” Hux asks, his clipped accent slightly higher with confusion. 

“Yes,” Ren admits with a slight laugh. 

“Whatever for? We are leaving, yes? The danger has passed.”

“I almost lost you. What if your plan didn’t work? What if they had figured out you were lying.” Ren begins. He senses a commotion outside and switches on the shields. 

“Are we..Kylo, are we still there? Why aren’t we heading toward the First Order?” Hux asks, struggling slightly in Ren’s hands. 

“Because I need to know what you were thinking. Why you worked so hard to save me?” Ren demands. 

“You are an asset--” 

“No, tell me the truth. I need to hear it.” Ren regrets instantly that he’s slightly shaking Hux. 

“I asked you not to do this,” Hux whispers. 

“Please.” 

The sound of their ship’s shield being peppered with shots causes Hux to stare up into Ren’s eyes. “If I say it, will you please get us out of here?” 

“Yes, I swear. Hux, please, I love---” 

“I love you, you massive idiot. Now please…” Hux doesn’t even get to finish his sentence because Ren kisses him once more before jumping into the pilot’s seat and flying off feeling as light as a feather. 

 


End file.
